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Jayson Tatum did not originally want to go to the Boston Celtics

Jayson Tatum is one of the upcoming stars of the NBA and is to be developed as a franchise player at the Boston Celtics. The forward originally did not want to join the Massachusetts team.

Tatum said in the All the Smoke Podcast that he had hoped to be pulled by the Phoenix Suns before the days of the 2017 NBA draft. Boston originally had the # 1 pick and it was believed that it would be used to draft Markelle Fultz. The Celtics then exchanged with Philadelphia and thus received the No. 3 pick.

“My agent called me and said that the Celtics were trading backwards and that Danny Ainge wanted me to come to Boston for a workout the next day,” said the 22-year-old. “I said, ‘No, I don’t want to go to Boston. I like it here in Phoenix. The weather is good. I’ll get a big house, a pool, my mother will be here.” “His agent also argues that Celtics Coach Brad Stevens had a very good reputation, so Tatum was not enough.

Jayson Tatum: “It was the right decision”

Shortly after hanging up, Mike Krzyzewski called him again, for whom he had just completed his only college year at Duke University. Coach K also emphasized that Stevens was a good coach and that the situation in Boston could fit Tatum. Only then did he agree to complete at least one workout for the Celtics.

Skepticism arose primarily because Boston had the best record in the east in the previous season. “They already had Isaiah Thomas, Al Horford, Marcus Smart, Jaylen Brown, Jae Crowder,” said Tatum. “I thought I would not play there. I wanted to score points. But everything worked out. It was the right decision for me.”

Already as a rookie, Tatum almost reached the NBA Finals with the Celtics, in the 19/20 season he was now the all-star for the first time. “It worked very well. So far, I am very happy to have landed in Boston,” said Tatum. Phoenix stayed fourth in the draft, pulling Josh Jackson instead.

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